New York Minute
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Based on spoilers and speculation for the midseason finale. Grant breaks into the Playground intending on taking Fitzsimmons hostage but his plans are derailed when the Monolith starts attacking them.


**I don't own Agents of SHIELD nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Grant entered the Playground planning on taking Fitzsimmons hostage (with absolutely no intentions of hurting them, however) to get to Coulson and take the SHIELD director down. He had no idea what awaited the three of them next. And when he saw Jemma about to kiss Fitz, he debated on waiting a minute or two for them to get that out of the way (they did deserve to be happy after all, even though he was so furious he could barely see past it anymore) but shrugged and strolled into the lab. "Well, well, well," he said then nearly facepalmed at himself for the cliche he had just accidentally spewed. The looks of fear on Fitzsimmons' faces would haunt him but he still didn't intend for anyone besides Coulson to get hurt here.

"How did you get in here?" Fitz asked. This shouldn't have happened - the base was fortified against these attacks, especially after the fiasco with Gonzales.

"That's for you to find out later … or maybe not." Grant really didn't need to tip his hand this early in the game.

"You're a monster," Jemma snarled as she started hunting for a weapon. Why had she allowed the others to part her from her knife? It might have been useful in this situation. And after everything she experienced on the planet from hell, she wasn't terrified of Grant Ward anymore.

"I am well aware of that, Simmons. Now shut up and sit down," he barked. Grant needed to detach himself or else he'd fuck this up. He definitely can't afford that, especially not when Malick's convinced he's not good enough to run Hydra.

Both of them glared at Grant but sat down anyway. "You will pay for this," Jemma warned him, still trying in vain to find a weapon.

"Glad you think so. Haven't been caught yet."

Fitz cocked his head in confusion. "We caught you before," he pointed out.

Grant rolled his eyes. "I was talking about afterwards, Fitz."

"Ah, got it. That makes more sense then." Fitz hoped the others would be back soon to rescue them. He didn't want to deal with this for long.

"Coulson's going to pay for the crimes he committed. I refuse to let him get away with this." Grant paced back and forth as his anger rose to the surface again.

Fitz and Jemma glanced at each other for a second before turning their attention back to the agitated man in front of them. "What are you even talking about?" Fitz was mostly just curious about how he convinced himself Coulson had wronged him.

"I'm not playing this game, Fitz. Don't think you can trick me into it." Grant was smarter than that and Fitzsimmons knew this already. Why were they attempting to convince themselves otherwise?

"Then what game are you playing? You're clearly playing one," Jemma interrupted as she stood up against Fitz's protests. He just sighed and stood up next to her a few seconds later. And he shrunk back only a little when Grant glared at them.

"What do you two think you're doing?" he demanded.

Jemma opened her mouth to start yelling at him but all three of them whirled around to face the Monolith because it began to roar. That was the only way they could describe to the others later when questioned. "Did anybody touch anything?"

Both Fitz and Grant shook their heads. "What the fuck?" Grant asked.

Fitz raised his hand. "I do believe now is the best time to run!" He started to back away but slipped on something on the floor and was surprised when Grant grabbed his elbow to keep him upright. "Thank you?"

"Don't mention it." Then he tugged on Jemma's sleeve and made sure the scientists were safely behind him so neither one was injured.

Fitz and Jemma exchanged confused glances. "You do realize this isn't going to save us, correct?" she questioned.

"I won't let either of you get hurt. I'll protect you from whatever the fuck is happening now. Stay behind me and let's try to find a way out of here." All three of them ducked when the Monolith started spitting out dirt.

"We need to figure out a way to stop this!" Jemma clawed at his back trying to get him to move forward but Grant refused to cooperate as he cocked his gun and started shooting.

"That's really not helping but good effort!" Fitz doubted they could shoot their way out of this but maybe it would slow whatever this was down. He pushed down the fear and struggled to find something on one of the tables that could make this stop.

"I told you two to stay behind me!" Grant didn't have time for this and needed to make sure these two didn't leave his sight.

"You were just trying to take us hostage ten minutes ago! This could create a catastrophe if we don't figure out a way to shut the Monolith down. Again, I ask, did anyone touch something they weren't supposed to?" Her heart pounded her chest as hope bloomed - was the Monolith going to return Will? But that seemed unlikely so she squashed both the fear and hope.

Grant saw the crystal levitate off the table and once he noticed Fitz wasn't paying attention, he dove towards the scientist. Both he and Jemma stopped dead in their tracks when Grant collapsed on the floor. They dropped to their knees when a cocoon started filming around him. "He got hit with the Terrigen crystal," Fitz whispered in horror.

"Oh fuck. he's Inhuman. Fitz, is there an off switch or something?" Jemma's hands hovered over Ward's body as she waited for him to break out of the cocoon and gasped when the transformation started to take place.

Grant came to with a scream and fire shot out of his hands. Fitz grabbed the fire extinguisher and started spraying, unfortunately getting both the new Inhuman and Jemma in the process. When everything cleared, Jemma was glaring daggers at him and Grant had a look of fear on his face. "What's wrong with me?" he asked, his voice so small neither of them could believe it.

"You got hit with the Terrigen crystal and didn't die so you're Inhuman. And your powers seem to be fire-based. Can you get up?" she gently asked, surprising even herself. Why was she showing him compassion? That confused Jemma since she still hated this man (although maybe her hatred had cracked just a little since he had nearly died to protect Fitz).

Grant slowly pulled his knees up and backed himself up against the wall. "I don't want to hurt you but I don't know how to control this. Get out of here!"

"We're not leaving you," Fitz assured him as the Monolith finally calmed down. Everything died down to an eerie quiet that terrified all three of them.

"Calm before the storm?" Jemma guessed.

Fitz shrugged. "We should get Ward somewhere safe, yeah?" We need to call Skye so she can help with the transition."

"She's going to kill me," Grant murmured as flames flickered for a brief few seconds. Why was he so cold despite the fact that he could now feel the heat?

"We won't let her. And you can bet that's a promise coming from me." Jemma stayed as far away from the Monolith as she could as she checked on it to make sure that thing wouldn't attack them again. Satisfied that it wouldn't, she scurried back to Fitz and Grant's side, grabbing a blanket to drape over the new Inhuman's shoulders.

"Thanks, Simmons."

"You're welcome. Now you want to get off this floor or stay here for now?"

"I don't think I can go anywhere," Grant reluctantly admitted, hating himself for confessing a weakness.

"That's perfectly acceptable. We'll just sit here on the floor and hope the Monolith doesn't try to kill us again. We need to figure out what the fuck just happened that caused this fiasco in the first place." Fitz couldn't understand it and he felt compassion for the clearly in shock man in front of them.

The three of them stayed crouched against the wall until the door opened and several of their teammates stepped into the lab. "What the hell happened while we were gone?" a confused Phil wondered.

"Ward broke in to take us hostage but then the Monolith started trying to kill us so he protected Fitz and I instead. Then he got hit with a Terrigen crystal and is Inhuman. That's pretty much it," Jemma told them.

Skye crouched down next to Grant and smiled at him. "Hey, you look freaked the fuck out." Normally, she would have yelled at him but he looked like a panicked mess curled up underneath the blanket.

He nodded. "Understatement."

She laughed. "Well, I'm here for your now even though I don't want to be so don't even think about protesting or whatever the fuck else you're cooking up in that brain of yours. No more betraying us. Can you handle that?"

"Yeah." Fearful that he would start another fire, Grant gently shook the blanket off of himself and stood up.

"We'll have someone in to assess you soon. Thank you for protecting Fitzsimmons." Phil hated to even say it and he couldn't wait to hear the full story but he was willing to let their furor at Grant Ward go for the time being. They could decide what to do with him later.

"You're welcome." He cringed and cursed himself for his vulnerability. He didn't want anyone to see this side out of him and knew they'd use it against him. Grant didn't know if he could handle that and certainly wasn't up for another fight.

They'd all figure out what to do soon but Fitz and Jemma were definitely one hundred percent back on Grant Ward's side. They'd protect him like he protected them. Nothing would be able to change their minds now because Fitzsimmons were stubborn as hell. And the team's lives had just been altered again in a way none of them had expected, let alone Grant. In the coming days and weeks, the team would learn about his past and actually understand him. In a way, this had been the straw that broke the camel's back regarding the tension, anger, and hatred simmering between them all. And right now, Grant was definitely raw and vulnerable, which led to him opening up to them in ways he hadn't before. His return started to repair something that had broken in the team after his betrayal.


End file.
